Thoughts and observations about Modesto and Stanislaus County

MID is Ignoring and Delaying Public Information Requests

By Enerson Drake

In order to obtain information from public agencies they otherwise would prefer to keep removed from the public eye, we sometimes find it necessary to make Public Information Requests. Officially it’s known as California Code 6250-6270.

It requires public agencies to respond to the request within 10 working days and has an emergency extension of two weeks if invoked.

But MID Attorney Tim O’Laughlin reads the code differently than any other attorney we’ve encountered. He seems to believe MID can ignore, purposefully misunderstand and delay indefinately answering questions put to it, and basically flaunts the regulations with complete disregard to the law.

We’ve had Public Record Requests in since October that the MID legal staff refuses to acknowledge. When a request was made on November 16, 2011 for three pieces of information, we received only one on December 19, and that was after we prompted them yet again. The second was pushed off indefinitely ( Tim O’Laughlin basically said you’ll get it when we feel like giving it to you), the third piece requested at the same time was dutifully ignored.

When we reminded MID of the second and third items, attorney Tim O’Laughlin then has attempted to restart the clock.

Is he working in conjuction with MID General Manager Allen Short and the three members of the old guard, Tom Van Groningen, Paul Warda, and Glenn Wild? These are the men responsible for MID’s continuing mismanagement and have all voted for the last rate hikes of 7.5% (last year) and the recent 2% increase.

MID is owned by the ratepayers but these men have run it into the ground and need to be stopped.

This delay of information should not and will not be tolerated by the public.